I've read that a polygraph exam costs from $400-$1,000.  My fiance took one that cost him $498.  The examiner spent 2.5 hours with him, and let's be generous and say that the examiner took 2.5 hours to be briefed by my guy's probation officer, set up the machines, and then collate and communicate the results to the probation officer.  This retired former cop is making $100 per hour.   

I'm a financial analyst, and figure my salary plus bonus and benefits work out to about $100 per hour.

The Examiner had to pass a 14 week course, and buy what?  a couple thousand bucks worth of equipment.

To do my job, I had to get an MBA (took me 4 years part-time), and cost me over $80k.  I also had to get several licenses which required further education, and required me to take and pass several grueling 6 hour long tests.

Boy do I feel dumb!  I think we've got huge incentives and extremely low barriers to entry for people to become polygraph examiners.  This is mind boggling when one considers the potential impact these folks have on the lives of others!  Sure, I might make a bad investment call that influences someone to lose a bit of money, but these guys make a mistake (a false positive), and someone loses their freedom, and subsequently their livelihood, and even their families!  I am outraged the more I think about this!!!!

This outrageous compensation with little intellectual investment (or qualifications, for that matter) - not to mention minimal time and money gives these guys plenty of incentive to use whatever means possible to assert their legitimacy.  UGH!  no wonder they delete serious scientific posts from their polygraph place bulletin board.